Method and apparatus for drying printing ink



'Aug 194% F. 0. Mass ZVZEIQQBZ METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING PRINTINGINK Filed Des. 29/1937 4 Sheets-Sheet l \k N 1 a N 7 g5 x, R Q jINVENTOR mm' 0.1m

ATTO R N EY F. o. HESS Aug. 6, 1940.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRY ING PRINTING INK Filed Dec. 29, 1957 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 1 ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1940. F, Q HE S mmmz METHODAND APPARATUS FOR DRYING PRINTING INK Filed D60. 29, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet3 III] 50 Z- 6 94 57 ii if @mm in ATTO H N EY Amiga G, 194E. Q 553292163483 METHOD AND APPARAIUS FOR DRYING PRINTING INK Filed Dec. 29,1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 6, 1.9%?

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a a A igg n s m Application ii-ecember 29, 193?, Sepia-i his. i82,2i@9

ihis invention relates to printing and aims to provide an improvedmethod and apparatus for drying printing ink.

There are typographic printing inks in extensive use at the present timewhose vehicles consist of abinder dissolved in a solvent which issubstantially non-volatile at ordinary press room temperatures (about 25C.) and which becomes highly volatile at temperatures of about 150 C.When such inks are applied to a web, the speed at which the web is fedfrom the printing press to the web rewind roller may be in excess offour hundred feet per minute. It is necessary that the ink printed uponthe web traveling at'this high rate of speed be dried in the short spacebetween the printing press and the rewind roller to prevent offsettingor smudging of the ink. Merely volatilizing the solvent of the ink isnot sufficient for the solvent vapors are dragged along .90 with thetraveling web and recondense upon its surface, softening the ink andcausing ofisetting or smudging. It is necessary that the solvent vaporsbe removed from proximity to the printed surface. In the past this hasbeen done through destroying the solvent vapors by igniting them as theyemerge from the ink.

I have discovered that the efliciency and ef-' fectiveness with whichthe solvent may be removed and the solvent vapors destroyed maybe 30increased by causing the'printed web to travel past a battery ofcup-shaped gas burners which subject the printed surface of the web toheat of such great'intensity that the solvent is instantaneouslyvolatilized and by causing solvent vapors to be withdrawn from thesurface of the web into the burners where they are burned. The periodduring which the printed web is srrnjected to this intense heat is sobrief that, even though it consists of paper orother inflammablematerial, it is not charred.

In accordance with my invention, the material upon which an ink such asthat referred to above has been printed is drawn past a battery ofburners directed toward the printed surface of 3 the material,so thatthe solvent of the ink is 'volatilized and solvent vapors are withdrawnfrom the surface of the material into the burners and burned.

My invention also includes apparatus by means of which the intense heatnecessary to volatilize the ink solvent and burn the solvent vapors in avery brief period of time may be efficiently and safely supplied.

In the form which I now consider most desirable, the apparatus includesa gas furnace 10-- (Si Mil-416.1.)

cated in the path. of printed material. A series or" gas burners areattached to manifolds so that the intense heat generated in the burnersmay be directed upon the printed surface of the material. Thosemanifolds are mounted for or- 5 bital movement within the housing of thefurnace and are connected with a fuel chamber from which a mixture ofair and gas is fed to the burners.

A specific embodiment of apparatus for carry- 19 ing out my invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the furnace attached the frame of aprinting press; 7

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the furnace shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section of the furnace taken on theline 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a. fragmentary view illustrating the apparatus for operatingthe member preventing communication between the manifold compartment ofthe furnace and the suction duct;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of one of the burners;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a battery of burners;

Fig. 7 is a diagram of the burner manifold electric control; I

Fig. 8 is a diagram of the gas supply electric control;

Fig. 9 is anenlarged section showing the de tails of the connectionbetween a manifold and the fuel chamber;

Fig. 10 is a section taken on the line Ill-I0 of Fig. 9; and Fig. 11 isa section taken on the line ll-H of Fig. 9.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings includes a typographic pressii of standard construction for printing upon a web of material I6 fedfrom the press to the usual rewind roller' l1. As the printed webemerges from the press, it is led, in the direction indicated by thearrows in Figs. 1 and 2, through a drying apparatus, to be described,over cooling roller l8 and guide rollers I9, 20 and 2| to rewind rollerH.

The drying apparatus is mounted upon a frame 22 attached to the deliveryend of thepress and comprises a gas furnace 24 having a housing 25provided with a narrow slit 28 at its front end for the entry of theprinted web l6 and communicating with a suction duct 21 at its rear end.Heat is supplied to furnace 24 by means of cupshaped burners 28 attachedto manifolds 30 which communicate with a fuel chamber 3|. A

mixture of gas and air is supplied under pressure to fuel chamber 3| bya mixer (not shown) of conventional type.

The burners 28, as best illustrated in Fig. 5, are of refractorymaterial having a cup-shaped inner surface 82 and a central opening 33.Each burner is attached to its manifold 30 by means of a holder 34having an externally threaded end 35 screwed in the threaded opening inthe manifold. Screwed in central opening 36 of holder 34 is a member 31having a plurality of passageways 38 and a conical end 39 extending intothe burner below opening 33. r

When the burner is lighted, fuelpasses from manifold 38 through thepassageways 38 in sepa-- rate streams to provide diverging jets of.flame. The relationship between the conical end 38 of member 31 and thecup-shaped inner surface 32 of burners 28 is. such that the flame jetsextend substantially parallel to the surface 32 thereby heating it toincandescence and forming an area 4| of reduced pressure within theburner.

' The intense heat directed from incandescent burner 28 upon the printedsurface of web l6 causes the solvent of the ink to volatilizeinstantaneously and the diverging flame jets occasion a vortex actionwhich sucks the solvent vapors from the surfaceiof the web to the area4|of reduced pressure where they are burned. As illustrated in Fig. 6, thevarious series of burners 28 are mounted upon their respective manifolds38 in staggered relation so that intense heat is directed upon allportions of the web equally and streaking .of the web isthereby'prevented.

. Means are provided for cutting olf or regulating the amount of fuelsupplied to each of the burners individually: A needle valve 42 havingan externally threaded end 43 is screwed in a threaded opening inmanifold 30. By inserting a screwdriver in kerf 44, the needle valve 42may be screwed up or down to open or close the passageway through holder34. A look nut 45 is provided to hold needle valve 42 in the positiondesired. Thus if the printed surface of web I6 passing through furnace24 is not coextensive with the series of burners 28, those burners whichare not serving an effective purpose may be shut ofl. Furthermore, theadjustable valves 42 permit control of the amount of heat supplied byeach of the various burners 28.

Means are provided for'shifting the burners 28 from the operativeposition illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 to an inoperative position andat the same time cutting down the supply of gas issued to the burnerswhen movement of the web It past the burners is interrupted so that theweb will not be 8| are bent so that the manifolds 38 are oifset tionwithout requiring a deep space at the top of the furnace 24 when theyare in inoperative position.

Rotation of the manifold 38 is effected by means of an electric motor 54having a-gear 55 meshing with gear 56 attached to shaft 51. Fixed toextension 5| of each manifold 38 is a gear 58 which meshes with worm 59fixed on shaft .51. Thus, the manifold 38 rotates with motor 54, whichin turn is placed in operation automatically whenever web It begins orstops traveling through-furnace 24.

The means for starting and stopping motor 54 are illustrateddiagrammatically in Fig. '7 in which the various members occupy-theposition which they assume when the press is not in operation. Acircuit'iil is connected with the Press circuit 62 and, when the presscircuit is closed,

solenoid 63 is energized, closing switch 64 and circuit 65 connectedthrough switch 66 with circuit 61 of motor 54.

Fixed to shaft 48 for rotation therewith are cam 65 having dwells 69 and'lll'and cam having dwell 12. When circuit 61 is closed and motor 64 isplaced in operation as aforesaid, rotation of shaft 48 causes cam 68 tobear against finger ll,

thus closing switch I5. Thereafter, but, before shaft 48 has rotatedthrough an angle of 180, cam bears against finger 14, opening switch 66and closing switch 16. As soon as shaft 48 has rotated through an angleof 180, finger l3 falls in dwell 18, thus opening motor circuit 61 andstopping the motor with the burners in the operative positionillustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

When press circuit 82 ,is opened, the solenoid 63 is de-energized,closing switch 17, circuit 18 and motor circuit 61. Rotation of shaft 48then causes the cam 68 to bear against finger l3, closing switch i5, andfurther rotation of that shaft through an angle less than 180 causesfinger 14 to rest in dwell 12. When shaft 48 has rotated through anangle of 180, finger 13 reaches dwell 89, opening switch 15 and motorcircuit 67, thus stopping the motor with the various parts in theposition illustrated in Fig. '7.

I When travel of the web |6 through furnace 24 is stopped while thepress is in operation, solenoid 63 will also be de-energized by openingswitch 8|], thus causing the burners 28 to be rotated to an inoperativeposition as described above. Switch 88 is actuated by shoe 8| whichrides upon web l6. If web 6 should be broken so that its travel throughthe furnace is interrupted, shoe 8i will fall, opening switch 88.

Meansare provided also for rotating manifolds 38 through an angle lessthan' 180 and then stopping them so that repairs or adjustments may beeffected when the press is not in operation.

Motor circuit 8'7 maybe closed by moving switch 82 to contact 83 untilthe desired rotation has been efiected and the switch is then moved tothe position indicated by dotted lines at 84. After the desired repairsor adjustments have been effected, switch 82 is returned to its initialposition and normal operation of the motor control mechanism is resumed.

The large amount of fuel which must be furnished to the burners whenthey are in operative position is diminished automatically when theburners are placed in inoperative position to the amount necessary tokeep the burners lighted: Attached to the extension 5| of each manifold30 to rotate therewith is a valve 85 having a port 86. Each valve 85 isprovided with a sleeve 81 fixed in the fuel chamber 3| and having a port88 adapted manifold compartments.

matc es to register with port 8'6 when the burners are in operativeposition. Sleeve Bl also contains a second port 39 of restricted sizewhich is closed by valve 85 when the burners are in operative position.When the burners are turned to inopera-l tive position, valve 85 closesport til and port 88 registers with port 89 which admitsjust suihcientgas to the manifolds to maintain a pilot light in the burners. 1 Thevolume of gas which may dew through open port 83 is regulated by plateat attached to adjustment screw 9i and the volume of gas that may flowthrough port 89 is regulated by the plug 92 fixed to adjustment screwThe heat generated within the housing while the burners it are inoperation is so intense that the burner manifold it may becomedangerously hot. To prevent this, a strip 94 oi insulating material isfixed to each manifold 33) between the manifold and the burners 28.These strips are oi such width that their adjacent edges nearly meet toform a partition providing separate burner and tition is provided, themanifolds 3t become suiticiently hot to be subjected to a certain amountof expansion, contraction and warpage. I provide for this by means of aflexible connection between the manifolds and fuel chamber 3h Thevalve85 is connected with extension 5! of burner manifold 36 by aflexible conduit 95. It is necessary that this conduit be composed oi amaterial which will not be affected by the heat to which it is subjectedor the gas which flows through it. In the embodiment illustrated in thedrawings, conduit 95 constitutes a bellows-like tube with thincorrugated walls and is preferably constructed of copper. To assemblethe connection between the burner manifolds 3t! and the fuel chamber 39,the bearing .53 is formed of a split ring as illustrated in Fig. 10. Acoil spring 96 is inserted between the end of extension ill and valve85, and the valve is inserted in sleeve 81, so

that it bears against the end of that sleeve. Split ring bearing 53 isthen placed in the groove '52 and is fastened to fuel chamber 39 andsleeve all by bolts @l. V

Products of combustion and any vapors from the ink which may not havebeen burned are withdrawn from the furnace 24 through suction duct 21.In order that all-such vapors will be withdrawn, suction duct 21 isprovided with a skirt 98 which extends over roller 48 to provide arestricted opening to the press room.' As indicated by the arrows inFigs. 1 and 2, fresh air is withdrawn through this opening from thepress room in a direction counter to the travelof'the printed web, andthis counter-current of fresh air prevents the traveling web fromdragging the products of combustion or solvent vapors with it to thepress room. I

Communication between suction duct 2'! and furnace 24 is limited to theburner compartment of the furnace by means of a pivotally mounted member99. When the burners 28 are in operative position, the burnercompartment of furnace 24 constitutes the compartment below the partition formed by the strips of insulating material- 94, and the manifoldcompartment of the furnace is above the strips. When the burners areswung to inoperative position, the positions of these com- Even whensuch a parbetween suction duct 2i and the compartment of furnace 2 5containing the burners.

It is of the utmost importance that the products of combustion and, inparticular, any unburned solvent vapors be removed through suction duct2?. If the products of combustion be permitted to escape to the pressroom, they may render the atmosphere in the press room unendurable, and,if unburned solvent vapors should be allowed to accumulate, an explosionmight be occasioned. To provide for this, the gas supply motor it? isconnected by circuit ltd with circuit tilt for suction motor ltd (seeFig. 8). Accordingly, the gas supply motor 502 cannot operate unless thesuction motor-circuit itd be closed.

a mode of, carrying out my invention will be apparent from the foregoingdescription. I will summarize it briefly:

As the web it emerges from the printing press 55 where anink containinga volatilizable, infiainw mable solvent is applied, it passes throughfur-' nace 23. Within the furnace, each portion of the printed surfaceof web it is subjected, during a very, brief period of time, to heatgenerated by burners 28 to which a controlled amount of fuel is suppliedunder pressure. This heat is of such great intensity that the solvent ofthe ink is immediately volatilized and solvent vapors are withdrawn fromthe surface of web l 6 into burners 28 where they are burned.

The products of combustion and any unburned solvent vapors are withdrawnthrough duct 21, which communicates with the press room and the part ofthe furnace 2 3 containing burners 28, by suction means connected withthe fuel supply so that no fuel can be supplied to burners 28 unless thesuction means are in operation. After the printed web It emerges fromfurnace 2t and past suction duct 2?, it travels to a web rewind rollerill.

The burners '28 are-fixed to manifolds it which the mounted in thehousing 25 oi? furnace 25 for orbital movement so that the burners aredirected away from the web automatically whenever movement of the webthrough furnace 2 3 is "ers are fixed by a partition formed of strips 94of insulating material fixed between the burners and the manifolds.Warpage, expansion or contraction of manifolds 30 is permitted throughthe provision of a flexible conduit 95 connecting those manifolds withthe fuel supply chamber '3l.

' What I claim is:

1. The method of drying a printing ink containing a volatilizableinflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon a material,which comprises drawing the matcrial past a battery of burners directedtoward the printed surface of the material volatilizing the solvent ofthe ink, withdrawing solvent vapors from the surface of the materialinto said burners, and burning said solven vapors. 1

2. The method of drying a printing ink containing a volatilizableinflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon combustiblematerial, which comprises drhwing the material past a battery ofburners, volatilizing the solvent of v the ink, withdrawing solventvapors from the surface of the material into said burners, and bumingthe solvent at such speed that the combustible material is not charred.

3. The method of drying a printing ink containing avolatilizableinflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon a web, whichcomprises drawing the web past a battery of incandescent, cup-shaped gasburners, volatilizing the solvent of the ink, withdrawing solvent vaporsfrom the surface of the web into saidburners,

Y and burning the solvent vapors.

4. The method of drying a printing ink containing a volatilizableinflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon a web, whichcomprises drawing the web past a battery of gas burn- I ers havingcup-shaped inner surfaces heated to incandescence by diverging flamejets extending substantially parallel to said inner surfaces,volatilizing the solvent of the ink, withdrawing solvent vapors from thesurface of the web into said burners, and burning the solvent vapors.

5. The method of drying .a printing ink containing a volatilizablinflammable solvent after the ink has been printed upon a material,which consists in causing the material to travel over a predeterminedpath, subjecting the printed surface of the material traveling along ashort section of said path to heat of such intensity that the solvent ofthe ink is volatilized, burning solvent vapors thereby formed, drawingthe resultant products of combustion along the material in the directionof the movement of the material to one end of said section, drawing airalong the material in a direction counter to the movement of thematerial into admixture with said products. of combustion, and" thenremoving said mixture from proximity to said material and path.

6. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace locatedin the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber,a plurality of burner manifolds mounted for orbital movement within thehousing and connected with the fuel chamber, and a series of burnersmounted upon said manifolds so that intense heat is directed upontheprinted surface of the web.

7. The combination with a web printing press,

. of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprisinga housing, a fuel chamber,

of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web and comprising ahousing, a fuel chamber, a

plurality of burner manifolds extending across so the housing andcommunicating with the fuel 7 series of burners, aburner manifoldmounted for orbital movement within the housing, so that the 'burnersmay be directed toward or away from the printed surface of the web, avalve sleeve con: taining a port fixed in the fuel chamber, and a 75valve fixed to the manifold and containing a port through said ports.

8. The combination with a web printing press,

v valve sleeve. chamber, means connecting the manifolds with adapted toregister with'the port in the valve,

, ers may be directed toward or away from the printed surface of theweb, a valve sleeve containing two ports. fixed in the fuel chamber, anda valve fixed to the manifold and containing a port adapted to registerwith one of the ports in the valve sleeve when the burners are directedtoward the printed surface of the web and with the other of the ports inthe valve sleeve when the burners are directed away from the printedsurface of the web.

11. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace locatedin the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber,a series of burners, a burner manifold mounted for movement within thehousing so that the burners may be directed toward or away from theprinted surface of the web, a valve sleeve containing a-port fixed inthe fuel chamber, a valve fixed to the manifold and containing a portadapted to register with the port in,

the valvesleeve when the burners are directed toward the printed surfaceof the web, and

means for regulating the quantity bf fuel flowing 12. The combinationwith a web printing press, of a gas furnace located in the path of theprinted web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, a series ofburners, a burner manifold mounted for movement within the housing sothat the burners may be directed toward or away from the printed surfaceof the web, a valve sleeve containing a port fixed in the f l chamber, avalve containing a port adapted to, register with the port in the valvesleeve when the burners are directed toward the printed surface of theweb, and

a flexible conduit connecting the burner manifold with said valve.

13. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace locatedin the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber,a series of burners, a burner manifold. mounted for movement within thehousing so that the burners may be directed toward or away from theprinted surface of the web, a valve sleeve fixed in the fuel chamber andcontaining a port in its inner end, a valve containing a port adaptedto' register with the port in the valve sleeve when the .bumers aredirected toward theprinted surface of the web, a flexible conduitconnecting the manifold with said valve, and resilient means urging saidvalve against the inner end of the 14. The combination with a'webprinting press, of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web'and comprising a housing, a fuel chamher, aplurality of burner manifoldsmounted for orbital movement within the housing and connected with thefuel chamber, a series of burners mounted upon said manifolds so thatintense heat is directed upon the printed surface of the web.- and meansfor independently regulating the quantity of fuel supplied to each ofsaid burners.

15. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace locatedin the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamr.ber, a plurality of burnermanifolds mounted for movement within thehousing and connected with the fuel chamber, and a series of burnersmounted upon said manifolds in staggered relation so that intense heatis directed upon all portions of the printed surface of the web.

16. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace locatedin the path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuelmanifolds and burners to form separate manifold and burner compartments.

17. The combination with a printing press, of

' a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web, and comprising ahousing, a fuel chamber, a burner manifold mounted within the housingand connected with the fuel chamber, a burner mounted upon said manifoldso that intense heat is directed upon the printed surface of the web,-

and a'suction duct'locatedbetween thefurnace and the web rewind rolleradapted to withdraw solvent vapors and products of combustion from thefurnace and to draw fresh air past the printed surface of the web in adirection counter to its movement.

18. The combination with a printing press, of a gas furnace located inthe path of the printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, aplurality of. burner manifolds mounted for J movement within the housingand connected with'the fuel chamber, a series of burners mounted uponsaid manifolds so that intense heat is directedupon the printed surfaceof the web, and a suction duct located between the furnace and the webrewind roller adapted to withdraw solvent. vapors and products ofcombustion from the furnace and to withdraw fresh air past the printedsurface of the web in a direction counter to 7 its movement.

19'. The combination with a printing press, of a gas furnace located inthe path of a printed web and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber,means for supplying fuel under pressure to. said fuel chamber, aplurality of burner manifolds mounted for movement within the housingand of a gas furnace located in the path of the printed web andcomprising a housing, a fuel chamber, aplurality of burner manifoldsmounted for movement within the housing and connected with the fuelchamber, a series of burners mounted upon said manifolds so that intenseheat is directed upon the printed surface of the web, a partitionextending between the burners and the burner manifold to form separateburner and manifold compartments, a suction ductcommunicating with theburner compartment, and

means for preventing communication between the suction duct and themanifold compartment.

21. The combination with a web printing press, of a gas furnace locatedin the path of the printed web and comprising a housing a fuel chamber,a series of burners, a burner mahifoid mounted for movement within thehousing so that the burners may be directed toward the printed surfaceof the traveling web, and means for automatically directing the burnersaway from the web when movement of the web past the burners isinterrupted during operation of the press.

22. The combination with a printing press, or" a furnace located in thepath of the printed material and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, aburner manifold mounted for movement with in the housing and connectedwith the fuel chamher, and a series of burners mounted upon saidtherein.

23. The combination with a printing press, of a furnace located in thepath of the printed material and comprising a housing, a fuel chamber, aburner manifold mounted for movement within the housing, and a series ofburners fixed to said manifold, each of said burners having a series offlame projecting orifices directed outwardly along a conical surface anda refractory member having a cup-shaped surface extending substantiallyparallel to the flames projected from said orifices.

.24. Apparatus for drying printing ink comprising the combination withmeans for causing travel of a web to which the ink has been applied, ofa gas burner located adjacent to a point of the travel of the web andmounted for rotation about an axis transverse the path of the web sothat it may be directed towards or away from the web.

25. Apparatus for drying-a printing ink comprising a combination withmeans for causing the travel of a web to which ink has been applied, ofa heater adapted to apply intense heat to the printed side of the web ata point in its travel,

, said heater being mounted for rotation about an axis transverse thepath of the web so that it may be directed towards or away from the web.

26. Apparatus for drying printing ink, comprising the combination withmeans for causing a traveling movement of the material to which the inkhas been applied, of a plurality of rows of heaters adapted to directintense heat toward the printed side of the material, each of said rowsbeing mounted for rotation about an axis parallel with the axis ofrotation of each other row so that the heaters may be directed toward oraway from the material, said axes all lying in a plane parallel to theprinted surface of said material.

27. Apparatus for drying printing ink, comprising the combination withmeans .for moving a material to which ink has been applied, of a burnermanifold disposed in the path of the printed material, and a pluralityof cup-shaped gas burners mounted upon said manifold so 6v FREDERIC 0.uses.

